An Egyptian Criminal Court convicted 26 people on Thursday for joining an illegal group, namely for working with Al Jazeera and other television stations it deemed anti-government.
The court sentenced five people to 15 years in prison, and 21 others got a five-year sentence.
Nine defendants are in custody, and 17 were tried in absentia.
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Two other defendants in the case were acquitted.
The court said some of the convicted worked with the Qatari broadcaster Al Jazeera, which Egyptian authorities accused of being a mouthpiece of the Muslim Brotherhood group.
Others were TV presenters with the Turkey-based Asharq and Mekameleen broadcasters, both established after the 2013 ouster of Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi, a member of the Muslim Brotherhood.
Months after Morsi’s ouster, Egyptian authorities declared the Muslim Brotherhood a terrorist organisation and since then they have detained thousands of people. (NAN)
